WyoLeg: Week Two Recap.

Our Five and Dime plan is on its way to the Senate-- but that's not all.

By the 8th day of the Legislative Session, our five priority bills had passed the Wyoming House of Representatives— each one by a 2/3 margin or better. Here’s the breakdown.

Election Integrity

Our bills to require Wyomingites prove their Wyoming residency and US citizenship when registering to vote passed the House with flying colors, despite liberal outcry that these measures aren’t necessary. The bills passed with over 50 AYE votes each.

Banning DEI

As President Trump ends woke DEI departments in all federal agencies, our bill to ban DEI from state institutions passed the Wyoming House 51-8.

Ending Woke Investing

After hours of debate (sometimes tearful) on our bill to ensure that your tax dollars are only invested with firms who prioritize the highest rate of financial return, House Bill 80 passed 44-8, despite overt attempts by some of Wyoming’s money managers to kill it from outside the legislative chambers.

A sensationalized but faulty fiscal note on the bill estimated a loss of $5 billion to the state’s coffers, notwithstanding the fact that our public investments have been subject to an identical anti-ESG rule since August of 2023— and the state has seen historic returns since its adoption.

When a similar bill was passed in Texas in 2021, money managers there also forecasted catastrophe. Years later, these naysayers were proven wrong.

In 2021, Texas passed Senate Bills 13 and 19, groundbreaking legislation designed to protect its vital energy and firearms industries from the economic and political pressures of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) dictates.

The Texas Association of Business Chambers of Commerce Foundation (TABCCF) released a report in March 2024, asserting that underwriting costs for municipal bonds in Texas had more than doubled due to these laws, suggesting a detrimental economic impact. However, this assertion was based on incorrect data.

The corrected figures are telling: the average underwriting cost was $6.38 per $1,000 of bonds issued in 2022 and 2023, nearly identical to the $6.03 average from 2015 to 2021. The TABCCF’s initial claim of a nearly $700 million economic loss based on flawed data is not only incorrect but misleading, suggesting that the actual economic impact of Senate Bills 13 and 19 is negligible.

Achieving Immigration Accountability

Our bill to invalidate driver’s licenses issued to illegal immigrants by blue sanctuary states passed the House on a vote of 45-15.

Providing Property Tax Relief

After a similar bill was vetoed by Governor Gordon last year, our bill to provide a temporary residential property tax exemption of 50% passed 40-20. During debate on this bill, it became clear where the divide in the Wyoming House lies: those who believe they represent the government, and those who believe they represent the people.

Our Other Priorities

Aside from our Five and Dime bills, the following pieces of priority legislation are working their way through the Wyoming Legislature.

Repeal Gun Free Zones: Our bill to repeal deadly gun free zones has passed the Wyoming House 50-10. Will Governor Gordon veto it again?

Universal School Choice: A bill to achieve real school choice in Wyoming for all families has passed the Education Committee. It’ll be heard by the full body early next week.

Parental Rights: Our bill to end government overreach in homeschooling has passed the House 54-6, despite the repeated claims of “Republican” Representative Julie Jarvis (HD 57) that homeschool children “run wild” and are “illiterate.” We know some homeschoolers we’d like to introduce Representative Jarvis to.

Protect Women and Girls: A bill to define “female” and “male” based on biology— not politics— passed the House 50-9.

Ban Ballot Drop Boxes: Our bill to ban unattended ballot drop boxes passed the House Corporations Committee 8-1. It’ll be heard early next week by the full body.

Protect Medical Freedom: Years after the end of the so-called COVID-pandemic and its accompanying tyranny, a bill to ban discrimination on the basis of vaccination status and mask-wearing finally passed the Wyoming House 45-16. After repeated attempts year after year to pass this bill, we say it’s better late than never.

Stay tuned for more legislative updates.